


Siren's Song

by DragonWhiskers



Series: Monsters Are We All [1]
Category: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: 1700's, Alternate Universe, Coconuts & Pomegranates, Courting Rituals, Disney Mermaids Not Included, Dubious Consent, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Merman Kylo, Set somewhere in the Caribbean, Siren! AU, Unless You are Thinking about the ones that Eat People, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Wooing, seafood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-07-19 02:01:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7340149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonWhiskers/pseuds/DragonWhiskers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Can Rey withstand the allure of the Siren's Song as he calls to her from the deep?</p><div class="center">
  <p> </p>
  <p>    <img/></p>
  <div class="center"></div>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. From The Deep

The sea spray felt cool on her sun heated face. It had been a long day and Rey was looking forward to the coming cool of the evening. She stood on the bow watching the dolphins jump and play in the waves the ship was making as it cut its way across the water. She could hear shouts and song behind her as the men started to pull up the sails. The crew of the _Resistances Bounty_ were in a lively mood today. It had been good sailing and clear skies all day. From what second mate Dameron had been saying over dinner, they had made some good headway that day. 

Rey also understood that she’d be excepted to dance tonight, once the crew settled the ship and the music started. She was one of the two only women abroad, the other being the captain herself, but Leia Organa was long past her dancing days and as the second mate had told her, the crew was looking forward to seeing if she could dance as well as the captain had done in her day. Rey remembered the sailors that the table had cheered at that, but none had pushed her to see if she would give in and say if she would dance at all. Poe had loudly stated he was sure she could out do anyone other than the Captain herself, with a twinkle in his eyes. Finn, on the other hand, with a blush darkening his brown cheeks had even hinted he’d be happy to help her learn how to dance if she needed it.

She had to admit it, she was looking forward to it, really. The crew may have been gruff and a little intimidating at first, but now they felt like a family to her. She’d been so scared and lonely when she’d first set out on this voyage, finally striking out on her own, leaving everything she had known behind. Captain Organa had been very pleasant, even inviting Rey to dine at her table with her most nights in the early days as the ship headed south, as land was steadily shrinking behind them. The captain had encouraged Rey to explore the _Resistances Bounty_ and learn all she wanted about every giving aspect of the ship’s life.

Rey had come to love the sleek vessel, from the creaking timbers to the dank below decks. She had been overjoyed to find ol’Luke loved to tell tales of the sea, of the monsters and creatures that lived below the waves. She was shocked when Poe had told her that ol’Luke was the captain’s twin and the two were never far apart, but Rey came to see the resemblance as well as the way the two interacted. Rey had asked why he was always referred to as ‘Old’, if he was the captain’s twin, weren’t they the same age then? Won’t that insult the captain?

“Nah, Captain ain’t that kind of a lady to care if she’s got lines on her face,” came ol’Luke’s reply. Rey found she could spend hours listening to ol’Luke talk. She especially loved the stories of the merpeople, of the creatures that could live underwater, of the siren’s that lured lonely sailors to their doom with sweet songs and lovely faces. Ol’Luke told her tales of the giant beasts, of huge squids with their frightful beaks and long tentacles. Of sea dragons and the kraken and of the Leviathan that slumbers in the deep.   

A cheer had gone up among the crew once the sun had set and the lanterns were starting to be light. Rey had quietly asked the captain if she should change into a dress or something more feminine, if the men would like that more? The captain had laughed at that, “Rey, m’dear, you could wear a feed sack and these men would be happy to see you. If you want to change into that dress you have, then go change, but do it because you want to wear it, not because you think the boys will like it,” the captain had patted her cheek, smiling at her as she headed out of the galley and up on the deck.

Rey had thought that over and decided she’s put the wrap skirt she had over her knee britches, that way if she got going in the toss dance, she’d still have her modesty. Plus, it would look like she was in a skirt and she thought of how the crew would react to that too. That thought made her smile and she decided she liked it. She’d leave her hair down as well. Most of the crew kept their hair cropped, but some of the older man, like ol’Luke didn’t care to cut it anymore and some had hair longer then her.

The noise on deck got louder as Rey stepped out in the night air. She’d never see the schooner look so grand before. All of the sails were down, no longer blocking the view of the stars above and bright moon as it hung in the inky sky. The lantern lights were reflected back up off the ocean, helping cast more light around. Some of the musicians had started up a happy shanty that soon had the crew clapping and stomping along. Rey joined in as she stepping on the deck, standing just outside the circle the crewman made in front of the players on the beam. There were many drummers, tapping away with their gnarled net worn fingers, while a few others were still young enough to have the dexterity needed for the fiddle, guitar and the flute. Most voices joined in as the tune neared the refrain and soon the night air was full of loud voices singing about a drunken sailor and what you do with him.

Rey couldn’t stop herself from laughing at the outrageousness of some of the suggested verses as the men got bolder in their shouts and ideas and soon she was laughing so hard she couldn’t even clap along by the end of the of the song. She was wiping away the tears when Poe approached her, holding his hand out with a deep bow. Rey was all too happy now take his hand be lead to the center of the ring. As soon as the tune was struck up, Rey found herself smiling and laughing as she linked arms with Poe and started to skip around, before letting go and linking arms with the next man and so on. All the crew was clapping and cheering her on as she skipped and twirled from man to man as they stepped up to have a turn.

As the night progressed, Rey found she was kicking up her feet and laughing as the men started to shout and whistle when the fiddler started the first cords of a song that was fast enough for a good toss. Poe was the first to grab her slim waist before he hoisted her up over him, letting her drop in a twist, catching her before she could touch the deck. The shouts grow louder still when Finn was able to toss her high enough to get her a full turn in before he caught her. She was breathless, laughing and joyous when ol’Luke had stepped up and with more strength then any would have credited to the old story teller, he was able to give Rey the best toss yet, getting her to do a full two turns before he caught her, mere inches from her hitting the deck. That got the loudest cheers and Rey decided she needed a drink and a moment of rest.

Ol’Luke helped her up and led her off the beam up on the helm where the captain was watching the crew below. The music was a little less rowdy now as the players started up one of Rey’s favorites, _Health to the Company_ rang out clear in night as she drank down the ale she’d been given by the captain. Ol’Luke can to join her and his sister as they listened to the music.

“So are you considering any of them, to be a bit more attached to?” Luke asked causing Rey to choke on her ale and the Leia to roll her eyes.

“For godsake, give the girl a moment’s rest old man,” the captain said, swatting Rey on the back to help with her choking.

“She’s the same age you were when you met Han,” continued as if he didn’t notice how both ladies were eyeing him. “Seems a good age as any for a girl to pick a man.”

“Han wasn’t just any man and you know it,” Leia stated firmly, but Rey could see the smile tugging at her lips, “And I didn’t pick Han until much later, after lots of fighting and running and him getting arrested for smuggling and so on.”

Rey watched as the captain sighed, but it was a happy sound. There was a glow about the captain now and she smiled in spite of herself.

Rey was about to ask just what had happened to Han, a man she’d only heard of from ol’Luke’s stories, but then the ship gave sudden lurch to the side, causing everyone to tumble to the port side. Shouts rang out as the crew jumped up to see just what had rammed them. Rey helped the captain to her feet, but both of them grabbed the railing as another shutter run up the planks as the ship rocked harder.

“What the Hell is that!” came a shout from the bow as one of the crew men pointed down the starboard side.

“Monster!”

“Kraken!”

Both Rey and the captain stared at one another as the thing that had rocked the schooner pulled itself up, breaching the surface, raining seawater down on them as its tentacles started pulling on the rigging and the masts.

“Harpoons! Swords! To arms, men! Stop that thing from ripping us apart!” The captain shouted at Poe, Finn and all the rest, snapped out of their stunned shock and started to attach the creature. Rey watched as the first mate, a huge lumbering hairy man, by the name of Chewie of all things, ran at the monster, swinging his cutlass faster than she thought he could move, right at the thing’s largest arm. As he hacked away at the tentacle that was wrapped around the main mast, Rey jumped down swinging at the slimy limb that was reaching for Chewie’s exposed back. She’d grabbed the only thing handy, a mooring pole and started to beat the twisting limb back.

All around her were shouts and sounds of fighting as the crew grew bolder at the sight of the creature bleeding as Chewie hacked away at it. A pistol fired above her and Rey turned to see the captain had fired over the starboard side and was reaching for her second pistol then. Rey hoped the shots weren’t in vain as she wasn’t sure if this monster could die or not.

Suddenly the tentacle she’s been hitting, whipped around, gripping at her pole and then it quickly jerked to port, grabbing Rey around the middle and flinging her up in the air and well overboard.  She watched, not even able to scream as the black waters rushed up to meet her as she plummeted down.

The impact knocked what little air she did have in her lungs out and she felt the sea close over her. Panicking Rey kicked trying to force herself back up towards the light, but the light was fading as she sank lower. Dimly she thought she could see the ship, now aflame as one of the lanterns had broken opening spilling oil on the deck and the canvas had caught up in a blaze. Rey struggled and started to pull herself up, grateful when she broke the surface, taking great gulps of air, saltwater burning her eyes as she watched the _Resistances Bounty_ burn, before it started to list more on its side.

She tried to move her arms as Poe and Finn had shown her, tried to move her body like the other crewmen had done the day she watched them dive off the side of the now sinking ship, but something brushed her legs and sheer panic gripped Rey at that cold feeling. She forgot to keep moving her legs, she forgot how the keep her head above the water line. She sank again. This time the something that touched her was moving around her, pulling her further down. She thrashed and barely remembered not to scream as something cold and solid wrapped around her. She pushed and pushed, but hard cold muscle was beneath the scales that held her.

She started to see spots in darkness of the water, gray and white lights winked in and out of her vision as she was pulled deeper down. She knew she was going to die then, whatever creature had caught her, was going to drown her and eat her.

_Well I hope you choke_.

Came her last defiant thought as her eyes started to flutter shut. She thought she saw dark eyes in a long pale face as cold hands touched her, before cold lips pressed into hers.


	2. Pull Me Under

Rey came to, feeling something running over her arm.

Slowly more sensations become apparent as she regains consciousness as she coughed and tasted saltwater on her tongue. Gentle waves move over her waist and her legs felt like they were floating while her hands press into the hard wet rock under her. She blinked, trying to remove the salt and sand from her eyes as she lifted her sore and weary head to look around her.

She was laying on a rocky ledge, half submerged in what appeared to be a cave. As her eyes adjusted to the odd bluish light, she could not see an entrance, just a doom of rock all around her. Looking quickly up over the ledge she was laying on, there was a sand floor of some space, leading back to a darker corner of the cave, but not enough room for her to stand up even.

How did she get here? Did the very sea itself wash her into this cave? There had to be a way out if there was a way in, but where? She tried to pull herself into a sitting position as she pulled her aching body up, feeling heavier then she could even think possible. She heard it than, a low deep growl that echoed off the roof of the cave. Rey gave an abrupt shriek and scrambled up out of the water and fully onto the ledge scrapping her legs on the bare rock. She turned back around to see a man in the water. He was looking up at her with large black eyes.

Rey remembered those eyes. She remembered his long pale face and as she looked down she could see his long arms and she blinked, thinking she was hallucinating, but there in the clear water, back-lit from under him, was his dark long powerful tail.

She remembered the feel of his body wrapping around her, pulling her down under the water. Rey closed her eyes, finally remembering the _Resistances Bounty_ and that giant sea monster, just like in one of ol’Luke’s stories, she remembered the ship, seeing it burning and sinking in her mind. A sob escaped her as she felt the pang for the crewmen, for Finn, for Poe, for the captain and ol’Luke…were they…? How could they not be?

She pressed the back of her wrist against her lips, trying to stifle her sobs. Her legs gave out under her and she collapsed at the edge of the ledge, looking at the creature in the water that had apparently saved her life. She felt tears burn as her throat closed with another choking sob wracked her.

_They were all gone!_

_No!_

She covered her face in her hands as she felt the full weight of her grief hit her, of the guilt that she had been spared while her friends, her new found family were for all accounts gone, drowned or eaten by the horrid monster that had torn the ship apart.

She felt cold fingers, touching her knee, feeling like they were strangely burning her skin. Rey looked down to see the merman had pulled himself up closer to her and was reaching out to her, confusion clearly written on his unusual face. She just sat there, staring at him, too stunned to move. He reached up and reached for a wrist, slowly encircling his strong fingers around it, pulling her hand away from her face. 

He pulled her hand away further as he peered up into her face. Rey could see his confusion clearly in his strange eyes. They were large, larger than normal, deep dark irises hiding most of the whites at the edges. She stared back at him despite her tears. Small scales shimmered under the beads of seawater that clung to his skin and trailed off his black hair and down his cheeks. A long aquiline nose and the fullest lips Rey had ever seen on man or woman.

_Fish lips  
_

She managed to choke back the odd laugh at the extremely bizarre notion, more like a bad joke, that ran across her mind. He released her wrist and she gave him a watery smile as he lifted his fingers to trace along the path her tears had ran on her face.

He’d saved her, she had thought he was going to drown her – eat her, but instead he’d rescued her from drowning. She felt her breath hitch at that thought. He paused in touching her then, looking over her face again.

“Where am I?” Rey asked hearing her voice thick from her grief and tears. His fingers were still hovering over her cheek, he glanced down and then back up into her eyes, giving her a faint smile. Just a slight up tilt to the edges of his mouth really. He moved his hand to brush some of her hair, and she watched him, saw his face react in what she guessed was fascination. He’d probably never felt dry hair before, well mostly dry.

“Did – did any of the others from my ship survive? Were they saved too?” Maybe his people were kind? Maybe not all of ol’Lukes stories were completely true, about the luring and the drowning, if this one had saved her, maybe others had been there and saved the crew.

Rey watched him as he stopped petting her then and she tried to decipher what his strange expressionless look meant. He looked at her blankly, but there was something near hostel about the set of his jaw. He was clenching it tight. He tried to resume petting her hair, but Rey batted his hand away.

“Stop that! Can you even understand me?” She had almost yelled at him, starting to lean away from him. Rey watched as he narrowed his dark eyes at her before he grabbed her upper arm. His fingers tightened briefly before he started to slide back down in the water, trying to pull her with him.

Rey leaned back harder, she did not want to be dragged back into the water. His hand gripped her tighter as he sank back further. She jerked her whole body away from him, twisting as she rocked back on her heels.

“No-No! I can’t swim!” He gave another low growl and she started to panic, but managed to jerk free, scrambling back on her hands. He hissed as she broke free from his grasp and moved out of reach.  

She watched his face with its startled and open expression as he glided backwards, keeping his odd gaze on her, almost fearful in his intensity before he abruptly drove under, giving Rey an eyeful, as she stared opened mouthed at his sleek black finned tail before he disappeared. She thought she saw a flash of scarlet as he streaked through the water, down and away from her.

She stared and stared, realizing she was still kneeling, Rey sat down and continued to stare down into the water. She watched the light dance and reflect up on the cave ceiling, watching as it started to darken, the thought dawning on her that the sun must be starting to set, since the only logical thing was the entrance to the cave was under the water and somehow the sunlight was reflected up inside by the water.

Soon the cave turned dark as the blue light dimmed. Her eyes slowly adjusted, Rey didn’t know what to do, what to feel. In fact, she wasn’t feeling much of anything, shock, she mused as she laid down, letting herself get as comfortable as she could, laying on a sandy covered rock bed inside a darkened cave with her only company a mute merman.

Exhaustion hit her then, rolling over her just as strong as any tide. Rey felt the pull of sleep, thick and heavy, sucking her under just as the water had done, and just as black.

As she drifted under she thought she could feel light fingers brushing her arm again.


	3. Still Waters Run Deep

_Soft lips touched hers as strong fingers massaged along her spine. She tilted her head back, feeling those soft lips travel down her jaw, sucking deeply on her throat. She felt like she was floating, warm waters caressed her everywhere as the hard body next to her held them afloat. She moaned as she felt teeth brush against her skin before a hot tongue laved the bite mark he’d left. She could barely lift her arms for the languid and comfortable feelings that held her, but she wanted to touch him, this man that held her, that was making her feel so wonderful._

_Rey moved her hands to feel a solid chest, soft skin over hard muscle. She ran her hands along the planes of his chest, sliding them up to feel his soft hair at the base of his neck. A low growl came from him as her nails scraped along his scalp._

_Rey knew that sound._

_She opened her eyes, trying to focused on the body that held her, but all she could see was a mop of black hair floating out behind his head. She tried to stiffen, to pull away then, but he held her tight, teeth fastened on her throat as he parted her legs, pushing his tail up between them, hard. He twined it around one of her legs as he started to rub his erection along her body. Rey’s head fell back at the sensations of him holding her against him, of his body pushing, rubbing against hers, even from the feeling of his teeth leaving a love bite. She felt him shift a hand, running it down between them. Deftly his fingers found her sensitive skin and soon he had her bucking and twisting in his grasp. Slowly he pushed the tip of his member into her, still moving his fingers, keeping her writhing as he moved more and more of his body into her. Rey felt her body stretch, felt him push and move, undulating his pelvis, getting himself deeper into her. She cried out as they began to sink, her head going under the waterline._

_He moved his mouth to seal over hers, the sensation of drowning stopped and she looked into his eyes as his mouth worked over hers. He was staring at her unblinking as he moved his body again, causing her to moan in the back of her throat. His fingers pinched and rubbed, keeping her pleasure moving as he thrust into her._

_He kept them suspended in the water, kept her breathing somehow as he moved inside of her, pulling her roughly down onto him with his arms as he pushed up with his strong tail. Rey was lost in the sensations, of his body in hers, of his hands holding her, even his tail wrapped tightly around her leg felt wonderful and good. Her orgasm crashed into her hard and fast, taking her by surprise and she cried out in his mouth. She felt him swallow her cry as he held her tighter._

 

Abruptly she woke, scrambling to sit up, remembering in time not to stand and hit her head on the rock above her. She moved her hands to rub her face, finding her right hand was wet. She looked and noticed her fingers and palm were pruned, showing that she’d slept with her hand over the ledge and in the water. Rey quickly looked around seeing the cave was the brightest she’d seen it. Looking over the edge down into the water, she could see the merman, far below her down near the cave floor. He was looking up at her.

Her heart started to pound, remembering her dream, feeling her face flush as he stared to rise up. She watched as he slowly broke the surface, keeping most of his head below the waterline. Only rising up to have his eyes looking at her. She didn’t move away as he swam closer to the submerged half of the ledge. She couldn’t look away as he neared her. Slowly raised his hand, fingers loosely curled up. Rey, leaned over a little, seeing his hand close up, noting his nails were longer then hers and rather sharp looking too. His skin wasn’t just pale, it was a pale shade of gray, like he’d never spent time in the sun. She looked down into his cupped hand to see a dark gray stone about the size of her thumb.

She leaned a little closer as he opened his fingers, patiently offering the stone to her. Rey leaned her weight on her left hand and started to reach for the stone, but paused, looking down into his face first. He had risen a little higher, bringing his face above the waterline. She could see his tail, slowly swishing around, helping him tread the water and stay upright. He was staring at her, entreating her to take the rock. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear and reached for the stone.

Rey gasp when she held it up to see it better, he hadn’t given her a stone, he had given her a black pearl, nearly perfectly round and smooth. She looked back down at the merman to see him smile shyly at her. She returned the smile, keeping her fingers closed over the pearl.

“Thank you,” she said softly, looking down at her hand in her lap, then back up at him, “Not for the pearl, thought that is sweet, but for saving me,” she watched as he lifted himself a little higher, placing his hands on the rock in front of her, bringing himself directly under her.

“I know I panicked earlier and scared you off, but I really am not good at swimming, and I think you know I can’t breathe underwater like you can,” she watched him as she talked, watched how he cocked his head or narrowed his eyes at something. She didn’t know if he understood her or if he was just listening to the sound of her voice. “But I can’t stay here, I can’t stay in this cave for the rest of my life,” she tried to explain that he’d need to help her leave, but there was no understanding in his eyes. Frustrated Rey fell silent, thinking on how she could get out of there. Her thoughts were interrupted by her stomach loudly reminding her, she’d not eaten in a day and half.

She closed her eyes and held her fist next to her gut, wishing the empty pain away. When she opened them, she saw the merman was looking at her stomach and then to her face. She laughed a little, “I’m hungry, my tummy is growling. Do you have anything to eat?” she comically pantomimed putting something in her mouth and chewing it up with a loud swallow.

Rey watched as he followed her movements and then she saw his eyebrows raise and she could tell he understood her, finally! She thought he nodded before he dove back under the water, swimming away. Rey stayed sitting there, wondering what in the world he was going to do or possibly bring back. She started to count, with nothing else to help her pass the time.

By the number of 42 the merman had resurfaced with a huge crab held in his hands. Rey scooted back as she watched him place the crab, which was twitching and snapping its pincers, on the rocky ledge. The merman set it upside down before he raised his hand, holding what Rey thought was a white dagger. He quickly dispatched the crab and started pulling the legs from its body. Rey watched in silence as he cracked its claws and its shell, digging out the white flesh. Once he’d gathered a substantial amount of crab meat, he turned and held it out to her.

Rey was glad she knew she liked crab, having shared some with the captain on a few occasions. While she’d never had it raw, she knew that there were people that ate fish and other sea creatures raw and she knew this was very fresh, having watch the merman, kill and clean it right in front of her. Rey took a hand full of the succulent meat and shook her head when he tried to give her more.

“No, this is plenty for me, please, you eat some. Don’t let it go to waste,” she took a bite, welcoming the sharp flavor as she chewed. She smiled and held a piece out to him, laughing as he took the bite from her fingers. She scooted closer to the water, moving so her legs hung over the ledge, letting her legs dip into the water. His eyes widen and he moved a little to the side, watching her as he chewed the crab.

They ate the meal in silence, Rey very happy to be filling her belly, but going slowly in case the raw crab disagreed with her. She continued from bite to bite feeding some to the merman as he had moved closer to her, bringing his face up near her knees. She smiled, looking down at him, seeing what she thought was adoration, something soft and hopeful in his dark eyes as he took the bits of crab from her. The feeling of feeding him was akin to having some wild creature taking food from her hand.

Rey let that thought turn over in her mind as she chewed the last of crab in her hands. He was a wild creature, but he was not a pet…and neither was she. Did he think of her like that? Like she was something to keep?

She was startled from her thoughts at the feel of him laying his hand on her calf. As she looked down he was moving to lay his head against her thigh, twisting his neck so he could look up at her as his arm wound up the side of her legs, holding them against his chest. He reached up with his left arm, lightly letting his fingers skim over the hairs on her arm. She watched as he seemed fascinated with the way the dry hair felt. She giggled as it started to tickle, causing him to look up at her. She watched as he raised his fingers to brush over her cheek, and lightly over her lips before moving to pet her now completely dry hair.

Rey smiled and leaned down, letting him pet her, letting the sensation of him playing with her hair relax her and just let herself enjoy it for a few moments. She laughed quietly at herself as now she was letting herself be petted when she had just been thinking she wasn’t a pet.

 _Well, maybe we both are_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a side note, I'm allergic to shellfish, so all of my descriptions of seafood are based on my nostalgic memories before some shrimp landed me in the hospital at the age of 21. I miss seafood, but I'm not ever going to put myself through the agony of anaphylactic shock ever again.


	4. Fathoms Below

Over the course of the next day the merman continued to bring things to Rey.

First it was small trunk, something that had most likely come from a shipwreck, she thought as she lifted the lid finding a hair comb, some perfume bottles that had long since lost their contents to the sea, a very waterlogged and ruined journal along with a lovely but useless fountain pen and a small hand mirror. Rey set the items out to dry, knowing they were beyond ruined, but she felt it might hurt the merman’s feelings if she just ignored his gifts.

There were more cases, chests and barrels on the bottom of the cave floor. Rey had awoken that morning to see that the merman had been very industrious over the night. He had found bottles of various items, one brandy, one rum, another was a vintage of wine Rey couldn’t read, thinking the label was Spanish, but none that made her happier than the case of several bottle of drinking water, stoppers still coated in wax. She set them aside, decided on rationing what she had till she could figure out how to get out of this cave. There must have been a shipwreck nearby from all that the merman was collecting, Rey thought.

Unless this was already part of his hoard and he was just transporting it here to be with her. That part worried her a little, if he was thinking of her as just a new part of his treasures, his collection. He’d never let her leave the cave then, but she pushed that thought aside and tried not to think about it when he swam up to her ledge baring another handful of things to show her. 

After their evening meal of some clams and a type of big fish Rey have never seen before, the merman handed her a large cream seashell with long points on the side as it spiraled up to its top. It had dark brown strips in the cream and Rey had started in awe when she turned it over to see the sunset pinks and oranges that colored the inside of the shell. It was bigger than her hand and she placed it on top of the little trunk she’d moved off the side of the cave ledge.

She had looked back to see him resting his head on his arms as he watched her over the lip of the rock ledge. She had taken to talking to him, just talking about her life, where she had been, things she had seen and learned, as a way to fill up the silence that was between them. He had watched her, listening she thought, intently and would at times close his eyes and just smile. Rey wished she could sing better, but she hummed from time to time when she couldn’t think of anymore things to talk about. When she had finally gotten comfortable enough, she did start to sing softly, the first lines of _Health to the Company_. He had lifted his head, giving her wide eyes before he settled back down lazily lifting his tail to sway in time with her words.

Rey settled herself down beside him, letting her legs slide into the water. She lightly moved her feet in time with the lyrics as she finished the song. He had turned his head to watch her, his eyes warm and full of something Rey was beginning to suspect was more than just fascination.

“You, know I’ve been thinking, I need to really learn how to swim. If I’m ever going to get out of this cave and back someplace where I can at least stand up straight, I’ll need to be able to swim out,” she turned to look at him, watching him reach out to run his fingers over her hand and lightly up her forearm.

“Will you help me learn to swim?” she pointed to herself and then to the water. He picked his head up, looking at her intently. “Will you help me to not drown?” she asked watching him move around in front of her easily trending water.

He held out his hands, reaching up to clasp her around her waist. A soft gasp left Rey at how effortlessly he lifted her off the rocks and pulled her down into the warm water. She knew he was strong, but that was far more then she thought possible. He continued to hold her as he moved them out into the middle of the pool. She looked down to see his tail slowly moving beneath her legs. She noticed he had some color variations on his fins and tail, not only were there varying shades charcoal and slate, but there were two faint strips of scarlet on either side. Rey blushed she noticed what had to be an aspect in his anatomy that hid his genitals, she quickly moved her eyes up along his abdomen, seeing where the scales stopped and he started looked more like a human male.

Rey looked up into his face, seeing he’s been watching her the whole time she was staring at him. She felt her face grow hotter as he smiled at her. She ducked her head and tried to look anywhere but at him. She can’t believe how embarrassed she feels, just from having him see her looking at his body.

“Alright, so now what do I do?” she asked, trying to focus on learning to swim. Rey looked up, back at the merman, only to see he had moved his face much closer to hers. She could see how large his eyes were, how dark his eyelashes were, how each little faint scale overlapped the one under it, as they trailed down his face.  Rey watched trying to not hold her breathe as he leaned in closer. Unblinking he moved his face till their noses almost touched. Rey watched wide eyed as he tilted his head and then pointedly looked down between them. She blinked and then looked down to follow his gaze, to see he wasn’t holding her anymore. She was treading water on her own and hadn’t realized it.

She looked back to see him grinning at her as he let himself sink down under the water in front of her. Rey watched as he drifted down lower, the water was so clear she could easily see him motioning with his hand for her to follow him. She gulped and took a few deep breathes before letting her arms and legs still, slipping under the surface.

She had her eyes squeezed shut, straining her ears trying to hear past the water that flooded them. She felt him touch her foot and she jerked a little before willing herself still. She thought she heard a chuckle and opened her eyes to look for the merman. He was still below her, a wide grin still in place on his face. She watched in wonder as he started to swim around her, darting and twisting so gracefully and yet playful at the same time. He circled her, keeping his hands down at his sides as his tail propelled him through the water. She watched him till he came back around face to face with her, his eyes wide and she could see the elation that shone in them. She smiled wide in return, delighted to see him in his element. But her lungs were started to burn a little and she was feeling the need to breath. She pointed to herself and then up to the surface before she started to kick her feet trying to make herself rise.

She yelped when she felt him take her waist in his hands again. She looked down in shock and the beginnings of worry, but he was still smiling and was moving them up faster then she could. He lifted her higher when they broke the surface, holder up over him. Rey was laughing now as the water ran down her face and she placed her hands on his shoulders for balance. His smile was wide and his eyes shining when he lowered her back down to him. Rey felt herself blush as he looked so intently at her, pulling her closer to him. She glanced down, seeing how small her hands looked against his upper chest. She could feel his hands on her back as his arms slide around her, cradling her next to him. She noticed how warm he felt, how solid and secure. She looked up to see he was staring at her, all traces of laughter wiped away as he lowered his face to hers. Rey sucked in a quick breath as she watched him coming closer. Her eyes drifted shut just before his lips touched hers.


	5. Dive Right In

His lips were soft.

His hands were gentle as they roamed over her skin as her shirt floated away from them. Once he’d pulled it off of her, she noticed that he couldn’t seem to touch enough, his fingers constantly moving to map every inch of her he could reach.

Rey tried not to think on how strange this was, that maybe this – everything, the cave, the shipwreck, the sea monster and especially the silent merman that was now holding her, moving his lips softly against hers – maybe it all is a dream as it was too strange and bizarre to be _real,_ but when she felt him shift his body closer, as he moved to press them closer, Rey was unable to tell herself the hardness she felt was anything other than that of an aroused male. Even though he was not human, he was very much male and there was no way to hide his bodily reactions as it pressed into her abdomen.

She felt him twine his tail around her lower left leg, rubbing his body up and down on her inner thigh, slowly leading that hardness to grind into the junctions of her legs. The friction and pressure caused her to moan, pulling her lips from his, as she felt her breathing speed up.

He was looking at her so intently, so hungry, Rey felt her heartbeat rapidly in her chest and thought he should be able to feel it’s frantic beat too. His face was so close, so full of that otherworldliness, yet the look he gave her was that of any man that gives a woman when it’s just them and nothing else matters. She was having a difficult time focusing on anything other than him, his eyes had taken nearly every thought from her. Her world narrowed down to the feel of him under her hands, of his long body wrapped tightly around her and of his fingers endlessly moving over her skin.

She felt the rumble deep in his chest before she heard the growl, but it was a warm masculine sound that send shivers all over her skin. She felt his fingers kneading along her spine, coaxing her to lean in more, and even though he’d never uttered a single syllable to her, Rey knew he was thinking. _Mine_ his eyes said, _mine_ was the feeling of his tail and of his member rubbing against the threadbare fabric of her knee britches, causing her eyes to flutter. His body was so hot and she thought he was almost pulsing with need, a need she was starting to feel as well.

His eyes were searching her face, he had paused, deliberately holding still, but Rey could see it was a strain, he wanted to keep going, to see this blazing need through. Rey paused too and considered, did she really want to do this? Here and now? In a cave, in the water were someone that wasn’t wholly the same as she?

“I -um, I’ve never,” she swallowed, biting her lower lip as he watched her, “done…this,” she looked down than, not thinking and saw his erection pressed between them, large and pink. While she had never laid with a man, she knew what a human man looked like. Living on a ship for months on end with nothing but a crew full of sailors, well, she had seen lots of things that made her blush at times. The merman looked for all the world like human male, save for some extra length and a slightly spade shape to the head of him. Rey noted he was built like the rest of his body, long and thick.

Rey felt a combination of excitement and nervousness at the thought of his body inside of hers. She felt her insides clench at the thought of him pushing that hardness into her. She looked back up, knowing she was blushing, but she stammered on, “I think we need to get me out of these – if you want to take this any further,” she said softly moving his hands down to her waist, over the edge of her britches. 

She watched his eyes focus on his hands and then hers as she started to unlaces. He leaned back a little further and without warming he dipped down, lowering himself till he was eye level with her fingers as they worked the laces. He watched, seemingly fascinated as her fingers moved the laces and the once the opening had widened enough he started helping her tug the wet material off of her hips. His hands took over and she watched her pants float way, drifting to the cave floor along with her shirt. He had turned his attention to her thighs and Rey closed her eyes as he ran his hands lightly over her skin, gently pushing her legs further apart.

He nudged his face up, causing Rey to grip onto the rocks behind her, moaning loudly as he pressed his mouth right over her most sensitive skin at the junction of her thighs. She couldn’t suppress the moans and gasps as he started to slide his tongue over her folds. He draped one of her legs over his shoulder, then the other, supporting her and giving himself more room to latch his mouth onto her. He started licking up in slow strong strokes, before wiggling his tongue into her, pushing it inside of her.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut unable to believe anything could feel this good, him holding her, the water, even the rocks under her fingers, she could hardly fathom pleasure on this level. The merman held her thighs gently, running his hands up and down them, tracing invisible lines along her skin. His hair floated out and up, tickling along the insides of her legs while he languidly moved his tail beneath them, stirring up the water currents. She didn’t hold back her sounds of pleasure, not caring as they echoed back to her, he was giving her too much stimulation for her to even think about how noisy she was.

He was soft and slow, licking up the length of her again before sucking all of her into his mouth, running his tongue over and over her swollen skin, till her legs started to shake and her body convulsed as her orgasm rolled over her. He didn’t stop then, even as her legs tightened around his head, he continued to nibble on her, making his movements slower and softer till she reached out blindly grabbing his hands where they held her thighs open.

He looked up and even through the water she could see the play of emotions on his face, happiness followed by a clear look of possessiveness that was colored by desire, darkening his eyes more as he started to move up her body. As he slid his face out of the water, there was nothing but lust in his eyes as he brought his lips up to hover over hers. Rey watched his eyes, hot and heavy as he felt him shift her legs, nudging them further apart, moving her knees to either side of him. The dark look on his face made her breath catch as he took hold of her waist, fingers kneading as he started to wedge his body up next to hers.

He brushed the tip of his member against her oversensitive skin making her jerk and gasp into his hovering mouth. He stilled his movements and looked at her. He was staring at her eyes as he started to push into her again using small thrusts. He kept her hips still with he brought his mouth down that last inch to press his lips onto hers. Feeling like he was everywhere, she moaned into his mouth, fingers digging into his arms as she felt the friction of their bodies give a little and the tip of him enter her.

Slowly with those little thrusts he was able to push more of himself into her. Her own wetness becoming more then the water could remove now that he was starting to move inside her. Rey could feel the difference between his skin and hers now, how much more slippery it was next to hers, how hot he felt and how stretched, how tight he made her feel. His lips were still moving over hers when he gave her a deep thrust, pulling back and arching into her as far as her body allowed. Rey inhaled heavily through her nose, her eyes rolling back into her head as her nails scraped his skin.

She heard that deep rumble again, his chuckle, she thought, as he repeated that deep thrust, this time, she felt his pelvis meet hers as he pushed all of himself into her. Rey could only moan and hold onto him as he leaned back and started rolling his hips, stroking up into her from a new angle. Her hands flew to the wall above her for support as the feeling of him sliding in and out of her made her eyes flutter and her mind fizzle out. She felt him lean in again and she opened her eyes in time to see him descend down for another kiss. As he claimed her lips again, this kiss wasn’t soft or sweet, it was hard and near bruising. His body’s rhythm was starting to slip and he was becoming frantic in his movements as he sped up his thrusting.

She looked up to see his eyes were wide, before he ducked his head down to her neck, latching his teeth on her skin and tendons there, holding her in place as he lost all control. His body was slapping and pounding into hers. Rey felt his nails bite into her hips as he teeth bit into her neck and if felt wonderful. Nothing hurt here in the place the merman had pushed her body too, how far he’d taken her into their pleasure – the pain only blurred the lines and somehow heightened it and she moaned with each clutch of his fingers and movement of his jaw as he sucked on her skin.

He was loud now, his groans coming from deep in his throat and his breath hot as he panted in time with his frantic thrusts. He was sounding so animalistic in his lust, the thought dawned on Rey, he was ‘mating’. He had chosen her for his mate.

_Oh_

That thought caused her body to clench and she contorted as he pushed her into another orgasm. Her hands flew to his neck, gripping him tightly to her as he pulled her hips to him as he continued to pound into her, riding her through her waves of pleasure. Rey let everything go in that moment, her fear, her caution, she stilled and letting him hold her slumped body, letting him _have_ her. She let herself be free in her abandon and just let feeling of him run through her.

He jerked his head back, looking at her with too wide eyes, almost fearful, and yet he seemed so taken by his instincts, he didn’t stop the movement of his body, his pace erratic and jerky. Rey smoothed some of his hair back,

“Lover,” she whispered, soothing, watching his eyes, seeing some of the wildness recede a little, “Lover,” she leaned up and pressed her mouth to his, tasting her blood on his lips. He’d bled her and it had felt wonderful. Keeping her mouth on his she climbed higher on his body, wrapping her legs around his waist, pulling her arms around his neck.  

Rey felt him shutter and his frantic thrusting falter as he stiffened with the loudest moan yet and he stilled in her arms, still holding them both afloat. He was breathing heavy and she could feel his heartbeat, unbelievably fast against her chest as they drifted over to the lowest part of the ledge. He held onto the rock shelf with one hand, while the other slide up her side, trailing up to cradle her face.

He leaned in with soft eyes that held a look of wonder and a warmth, Rey felt cause a flutter in her stomach. His body was still tightly locked in hers, having not softened at all, but she was certain he’d peaked as well. He leaned in and kissed her, deeply and softly. As gentle as he’d been when he first kissed her.

He kissed down her jaw, heading down the side he’d bitten, she felt him softly licking, caressing over the bite he’d left on her. She could feel his tongue catch on the indentations, but it was a soothing feeling, he was trying to easy the hurt, but it didn’t hurt, not yet anyway Rey thought. With that thought she started to unwind her legs from around him, but he pressed his hand onto her lower back, keeping her wrapped around him as he licked on her neck.

She tried to shift a little, feeling him tighter, larger than before, still locked inside of her. She squeezed her muscles, gripping the base of him and he shuttered in her arms, shaking his head, a small gasp leaving him as he pressed his mouth along her shoulder. Rey cradled his head on the crook of her neck, but a small part of her wanted to keep him making that gasp. She held him tight, feeling so full and still so stretched, she wanted to hear him moan again and know she did it to him. She shifted her hips, just slightly and he gave a quite whimper next to her ear.

That little sound was addicting and Rey wanted to hear more from him. She started to undulate her hips slowly, rocking him inside of her, knowing he was so sensitive now that just the barest movement would have him crying out. His hands spasmed and tried to hold her hips still, but she only needed to squeeze him harder to entice another moan. Those little moans and whimpers were driving her on, her heart clenching on a particularly loud whimper. The sounds of him having lost all sense of reality were starting to drive Rey mad with need.

She needed to hear more for him, wanted to see what other noises he could make, but he had wedged his hand between them and his fingers reached down to press into her skin then. He kept the pressure even as he started to rub her, started to make her twist and writhe. Now she was making those whimpers and moans as he started to rub faster, but never shifting his hips, letting her thrust and wriggle while still having him so large inside of her.

They were both stifling moans and sounds as he kept his lips viciously soft on her throat while his hand was anything but, he was pushing her faster and faster, letting her move very little in his tight grip, but it was enough. Soon Rey was louder than before as she crested, almost painfully so at how hard he was treating her skin, but he eased off slowly, bringing her pleasure in soft circles now. His mouth had moved up to her ear and he was panting and groaning in time with his fingers. Rey felt him bite down again, higher up along the tendon as he muffled his last cry against her skin between his teeth. This time she was certain he’d found release as she felt some hot heavy liquid leak out of her as he pulled his soften body out. It was such a different feeling now, so empty and skin tender, yet she felt utterly sated.

Both of them stilled, panting and exhausted, letting the water hold them. Rey looked at him as he moved his head back. His face was slack, checks flushed, turning a pale dusty pink as he reached up and brushed a few wet stands of hair away from her face. She felt her body losing strength and rested her face in his palm, closing her eyes.

Rey was very glad for the solid wall of rock behind her. She turned and moved along it just to the right using her feet, finding a foothold on the rock wall behind her. She lightly lifted herself up to sit on the submerged portion of the ledge. She was still mostly in the water, but now to be sitting, took a lot of the strain off of the merman and she could see he understood. He moved in closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and laying his head in her lap.

She looked down, seeing his hair floating up, obscuring his face, so she started running her fingers through it, moving out of the way so she could see his eyes. They were open, watching her, then he closed them after a while, letting her pet him and he sunk down into her touch. Rey breathed out a sigh, content to lean back on the smooth rock, thinking she did like the way the merman was cuddling her under the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, long one 'eh? I'll be working on a few of my other fic today once I get my homework out of the way and I also will be posting a link for my drawing of Siren Kylo (once I get it done too) on my deviantART page. So more to come in time!!


	6. As Deep As The Ocean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is how I envision our [Silent Siren](http://fav.me/dab6yk4)
> 
>  
> 
> Let me know what you think either here or on dA!! :)

Rey awoke the next day to a soreness she had not been expecting. Her whole body ached but nothing compared to the steady throb of her neck.

She reached for the hand mirror, dreading what she was going to find. Taking a deep breath, steadying her as she gently prodded the area, angling the little mirror so she could see the sore skin. At first she got a glimpse of red and purple flesh and her fingertips told her there were small scabs where his teeth had broken skin. Rey stretched her neck a little, feeling her skin and muscles underneath protest a little more.

“Ow. Damn it,” she said in frustration, covering the entire wound with her free hand. She didn’t know how to feel about the bite. Was he always like that when aroused? Was he that much of an animal…was he an animal? She had to admit they both had gotten carried away with their shared pleasures, she also had to admit at the time, he had made her feel wonderful and in the heat of the moment the bite had felt amazing to her.

Now it just hurt, but she could feel herself blushing as she thought back to what else they had done and how good it had felt. She decided to have a word or two with him about not biting her in the future, though.

Rey moved over the water’s edge, cupping a hand to lift some seawater to wash and soothe her neck. It made her hiss as it stung, but she also knew it was cleansing too. She shifted off her knees to sit and noted the dull ache between her legs as well.

“Well damn,” she muttered wondering if everything that felt good yesterday was going to hurt today. Well maybe a soak would help her body relax and things feel better, at least it would take the weight off her and she could at least stretch her limbs some.

She slid her legs over the edge and herself drop into the cool water, hissing slightly as the saltwater stung the various nicks and cuts his nails left on her hips. The cave was mostly cool, having no sunlight to heat up the air, but the water did retain some of the heat. Rey found it very pleasant as she left herself drift a little ways, letting her body relax and float like Poe had tried to show her before.

It had been nerve wracking and scary the first time she had been in the water, just off the side of the schooner, but with Poe and Finn, she had agreed to try and learn to swim. She had clung to the rope ladder, off the port side, watching as other crewmen drove from the railing into the bright blue waters. Rey had held her breath, trying to master her panic as she waited for Finn to resurface after he’d dived in. Even with Poe’s hands guiding her, Rey had not been able to overcome her fears of the water and she had made a hasty retreat back up the ladder, back onto the safety of the ship’s solid deck.

Now, she found that the water didn’t scare her anymore. She idly thought her merman may have had a hand in that…Her merman.

Was that how she thought of him now? Was he hers? Was she his?

As she floated, arms outstretched, legs languid and gentle beneath her, she let the water easy the aches and pains, feeling just where that dull ache was and how’d he’d been coupled with her. A small part of her felt scandalized for floating naked, thinking of her merman, but her movements were far less restricted and she found it much easier to swim without the trappings of her clothing. Plus, she’d have dry clothes to get into once she did get out of the water.

Besides, there was no one that could see her now, save for her merman. 

 _Her merman_.

Rey sighed, what was she going to do with this – whatever it was.

She sighed again and stretched her arms, finally getting to move her body. She decided to try to swim to the other side of the cave and back. She’d been feeling so cramped up on that dry ledge that she was very happy to get to work her body, and again, she knew she’d need to get better at swimming if she wanted out of this cave.

How far was the surface from the entrance? Was there a tunnel? How long could she hold her breath…what would her merman think? Would he try and stop her?

All these things ran around in her mind as she made her first lap. She decided to try one more, but only made it half way before her arms started to feel the strain. Rey pushed through the feeling and was happy when her hand touched the slimy side of the opposite was. The algae grew thick on the far side of the cave, but Rey was happy to see the green moss, regardless of how slimy it was. She turned to head back to her ledge.

She was pleased to find her britches and shirt now dry as she’d laid them out flat to dry overnight. She had wrapped up in a length of canvas the merman had dragged up yesterday. She had used it for a bedroll last night, after it had dried out as well. It made the rock only slightly more comfortable, but it was better than sleeping on it nude. She now used the sheet of canvas to towel off and was delighted to pull on clean dry clothing. She felt as though she hadn’t been clean or fully dry in days. After draping the canvas sheet out some, Rey sat down to try and comb out her hair. She moved over to the edge using the water as a mirror and also to dip the comb into from time to time if she hit a particularly mean knot.

She noted there was more and more items on the watery floor than ever before. He sure was trying fill the cave with whatever he could carry. Rey wondering just want was in all those crates and chests. What could he be dragging in here? What would have been cargo on some merchant ship lost to a storm, or run afoul of that horrid squid creature, or even just bottomed out on a low tide coral reef.

It almost felt like he was trying to build a home…for her? For them? It’s not like she intended to stay in here, but how was she going to leave? Rey continued to ponder on just how she could fix her plight, when she noticed the merman was swimming up to the ledge.

To her delight he was carrying two good sized coconuts.

“Oh, wonderful! Where ever did you find these?” she asked watching as he set one down wedging it solidly between a rock and part of the ledge. The other he handed to her with a wide grin. He then dove back down to the cave floor. Rey peered over the edge trying to watch what he was doing, but he was already on the assent. He came back up holding one of the most ornately ridiculous looking goblet in one hand and barnacle encrusted chisel in the other. Rey watched as he set the goblet to the side before placing the point of the chisel on one of the coconut’s ‘eyes’. The merman flicked some of his wet hair out of his face before he lifted a good sized rock to smack the end of the tool. There was a _thunk_ as the bit of shell gave way and Rey clapped as he turned to pour the coconut milk into the goblet. He was smiling wide as he handed the cup to her. Rey had to laugh at the idea of using a jewel covered golden goblet to drink coconut milk from, but as of late, things were still not ‘normal’, why should her breakfast be any less so?

She closed her eyes and savored how wonderful the cloudy fluid tasted. She had heard some of the sailor’s talk about getting stranded, and how you’d be fine if there were coconuts and bananas on the island with you. All you’d need till help came sailing by, it if ever did. Rey hadn’t understood than, but after two more mouthfuls, she thought she got a little bit of what the crewmen had meant.

She watched as he repeated the action with the second coconut and refilled her cup, before he began to chisel a line along the shell, creating a fracture. Before long he'd split the shell in half, exposing the wet insides of the large nut. He handed one half to her before he set about scooping out the coconut flesh and lifting it to her mouth. Rey smiled and accepted the bit of food, seeing the elation on his face as she chewed it.

"Did you find these in some sunken cargo hold? Or is there an island nearby?" Rey asked, not really expecting him to answer, merely to fill the silence between them, but he paused in his movements and then he tried to act like nothing had happened. Rey saw it and she didn’t know what that meant. Had he understood her? She decided to see if she could be a little sneaky herself and get him to give himself away.

“I love fruit, so thank you for finding these,” she said taking more of the coconut and eating it as he handed it to her, “my favorite was these dark red almost purple ones we had on the ship, lots of little seeds in them, but they were tart and tastes so good,” she let her voice trail off as she looked in the distance wistfully. With a small sigh, she went back to looking at him, eating more of the crunchy and sweet coconut. She couldn’t gauge the look on his face, as he watched her, but she could tell whatever was swimming around in his head, was sure moving fast.

After they finished their meal, Rey laid near the water’s edge watching as the merman continued his industrious streak, moving and rearranging all he’d amassed on the cavern floor. Sorting and shifting things, sometimes he’d bring an item up for her to see. She watched as he used the chisel and rock trick to knock open some of the chests. Even with the water between them, she could see the gold coins shining in the smaller chest. The merman sifted through it, sorting it seemed, till he looked up at her. Rey could see he was very excited as he swam up, nearly leaping out of the water to sit up on the submerged ledge.

Rey scooted closer to see what had him so excited. He was grinning so wide she thought his face had to hurt. His hands were cupped in front of him, hiding whatever it was he had found.

"Oooh!"

She stared in awe as he opened his hands to reveal a lovely gold and emerald necklace. He lifted it by its thin chain, reaching to drape it over her head. Rey knew she was blushing, as he trailed his fingers along the side of her neck before letting the metal rest on her skin. The pendent was a heavy solid weight resting just between her breasts. She looked down, lifting it up to get a better look at it. A deep green emerald set in ornate gold filigree along the top and bottom, elongating the design and hiding the clasp. It was lovely, but hardly something Rey would have ever thought to find hanging from around _her_ neck.

A light caress traveled up the side of her face, tracing the edge of her jaw, before he moved his fingers into her hair. Rey looked up to see his large, dark eyes moving over her face before he started to gently pull her towards him. Her eyes drifted shut just before their lips met. They were just as soft as she remembered.

The kiss was slow and easy, she could taste the salt that remained on his lips, briefly wondering if sea salt was part of his essence. He moved his lips down, kissing along her jawbone, fingers cradling her head as he moved his mouth down the side of her throat. He mouthed and messaged along her sore skin, keeping his touch light and soft, till he slid his tongue over the bite mark. Rey sucked in air at the sharp pain that reignited the dull ache that had nearly faded.

She tried to pull away from him, but he'd snaked his other arm around her back and was now holding her firmly against him. He repeated his actions and Rey didn't suppress the whimper it caused. She was shocked to feel the desire building in her, the anticipation, he was bringing her to arousal faster than the last time. The third time he pressed his tongue into her skin, Rey moaned and felt her body heat up under his touch. She leaned in more as he pulled her closer. He started to push at her britches, trying to tug them off. Rey didn't even think about it, she just reached down to help.

His lips never left her skin, but he was softly groaning in the back of throat as they finished pulling off her pants. Rey looked down to see his member, stiff and long, pointing toward his chest as it lay against his abdomen. She reached down and gently wrapped her hand around him.

The startled cry that left him made her body clench hard, but the moan that followed as she moved her hand up and over him, feeling how hot and slippery his skin was, that moan made her want him inside her, now.

“I’m a little sore from yesterday so I would like it if you held still and let me move, let me find what’s comfortable, can you do that?” She asked, while ligthly stroking up and down his length. She thought he had nodded, but the way he kept closing his eyes and softly shuttering under her hands, she really couldn’t tell.

She shifted, bringing herself up to straddle his waist while he sat on the ledge. He was watching her, his face in awe as she still caressed him in her hand. Slowly Rey rose up on her knees, keeping her body off of his. She angled her wrist so she could rub his tip against her slowly wetting skin. The look on his face as he watched her, those large eyes wide as he held his bottom lip in his teeth. He was staring at her hand while she started to add more pressure between them, to rub him harder into her skin, finding the same place he'd found so effortlessly yesterday.

Rey felt her body pulse, feeling her own liquid heat move down to help wet her skin more. She shifted a little bit and began to push herself down onto him. She bit her lip as she felt his body start to stretch her, his skin was so slippery there was barely any friction as she seated herself down on him. Rey widen her thighs so she could push the last of him inside herself, giving in to the need to whimper as she felt her inner walls stretch and felt a slight burn from the intrusion.

She watched as he remained passive, but at great restraint to himself. His hands curled and uncurled as he panted, looking at her face and then down where their bodies interlocked. Rey placed her hands on his shoulders, using the leverage to start to rock her hips, feeling his body deep within hers. She lifted her hips a little before dropping back down again, feeling him twitch and enticing a small moan from him. She started to experiment, rolling her hips and trying different rhythms, listening to each new sound it would bring out in him.

She ran her hands down his arms, tracing the curves of his muscles, down to his wrists. Lifting his hands, Rey placed them back on her waist just under her ribs. His focus trained on his hands as she moved his fingers up, touching just the undersides of her breasts. Rey took a hold of her shirt and pulled it off, tossing it off to the side. His eyes tighten as he watched her slide his hands further up till his large hands were palming each of her breasts.

Rey leaned her head back, just letting her body soak up the delicious sensations of him beneath her, in her, his hands roaming over her skin. How could he possibly be real? She felt him lean forward, and she gasp when she felt those soft lips touch one taunt nipple. He took it slowly, letting his mouth roam like his hands had done, but Rey could feel the edge of his teeth.  She fought back her moans and made herself look down at his head as he suckled on her skin.

"No teeth this time, please, that bite hurts a lot today. I do not want a bite like that on my tit," she ran her finger up into his hair, pulling his head up when he didn't acknowledge she had spoken. "I mean it, no teeth," she looked down into his face, seeing his eyes closed and a mix of bliss and hunger plain as day. His eyes were drowning in desire when he opened them to look up at her.

Rey's breath caught from the sheer look of want on his face.

She held her breath as he lowered his head slowly back to her breast, keeping his eyes locked on her. Rey felt his soft lips again, gentle and wet, before he sucked just as gently, still keeping his eyes on her the whole time. She moaned as his fingers shifted back down to wrap around her waist. He pulled her upwards just enough to have a little room to thrust up into her. She moaned louder, her fingers running through his drying black hair as he gave another deep push upwards.

They reached a rhythm together, him thrusting up while she pushed down. Rey thought it was so close to ecstasy she hoped it would never stop, that it was so close to heaven, it had to be sinful. At that moment she didn't care if her merman was the devil himself, as long as he kept making those heart wrenching little sounds just for her.

He shifted his grip, adjusting the angle slightly and hit a new spot within her. Rey could not hold back the loud moan as he quickened his pace, taking over their movements and pulling her up and down onto him faster, leaving her gasping and grabbing at his shoulders. He was moving faster now and it was all Rey could do to hold on, as he was driving her fast towards that bright shining edge. Her body was tight and shaking, her breathing was short and harsh. Her arms wrapped around his head and neck, nails digging in as he started to lose his steady rhythm and his tail was flicking water in the air. She could feel his own ragged breath as he pressed his forehead into her chest, hands still gripping her waist tight.

Between one thrust and the next he brought her nearly screaming as he moved within her. Rey felt her nails wrack down his shoulders as she tried to hold onto anything to keep her from flying apart with pleasure. He groaned loudly, his mouth pressed against the hollow of her throat. Rey felt his voice echo through her breastbone.

She could feel the difference then, down between them. His member swelled, pushing her body to its limits in how much she could hold. Coupled with the intense release she’d just had, she cried out, her body convulsing in another orgasm. She nearly passed out as the world whited out and she saw starts behind her eyes. She could feel his arms wrapping around her back, hands stroking up into her hair and back down her spine. It was as soothing gesture and so was the soft shushing noises he was making in between his own pants and harsh breathing.

Rey lay there in his arms, feeling boneless and stretched full at the same time. She couldn’t help it, exhaustion rolled over her and she fell asleep with the feeling of contentment and warm strong arms holding her.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So things are far from normal around my household right now. We're bunking a friend who needed a place to stay ASAP and now we're starting to re-arrange everything to make more living space. Work is nuts as I'm starting to get more and more folks to train and school is just school, as in to much shit due in a few days. Sorry for the delay on this one. I've been working on it off and on for the last week or so. I'm going to try and hash out the next chapter soon as well as work on my other few stories. 
> 
> So more to come :)


	7. In Over Your Head

Rey was feeling so much more energetic after her nap.

Her merman was still holding her close when she woke up. He’d been lightly stroking up and down her back, a wistful expression on his face as her eyes had fluttered open. He was a solid warmth beneath her, a pleasant contrast to the rock she’d been sleeping on. She leaned back, trying to stifle a yawn and she rubbed her eyes. Rey could feel his body had retracted from hers and there was a wet mess between them now. She blushed as she sat back on her heels, noting he was smiling now at her.

“Um, I should – we should wash off, I think,”

He smiled wider and picked up her hand that was laying on his chest. He watched her eyes as he raised it to his lips, pressing them to her skin. He reached up with his other hand, cupping her face and leaning in closer, gave her a gentle kiss, his eyes twinkling with some inner happiness. Rey felt herself smile in return.

As they slipped into the water, Rey noted that she felt great. The nap had refreshed her and now her body no longer felt sore. She stretched out, lightly swimming her way out into the middle of the pool, watching her merman below her as he did the same. She watched as he drove deeper down near the bottom, something down there catching his attention. Rey decided to try and reach him, to see if she could dive down as well.

She watched him look up to see her, surprise clear as she reached out her hand to him. He took it and helped pull her down to the bottom of the cavern. Rey as elated to touch the sandy floor for the first time. She looked around briefly, noting how he was shifting some of the sand here and there, making what she thought of as nest for himself out of large seaweed strands and a large fishing net, she thought it was probably more comfortable then her rock ledge. She smiled wide when he pulled her closer to him, planting a small kiss on her cheek, before he started to swim up, pulling her along with him.

She was laughing as they broke the surface and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her closer, hugging his head next to her chest. She chuckled and hugged him back, petting his hair away from his face, sighing contently. She felt him kiss her skin before he looked up at her. She leaned down to kiss him back but he ducked away. Rey frowned and tried to move closer, but he let her go and dived back down in the water, a smirk clear on his face. She huffed at the teasing and dove right after him.

The rest of the day when along those lines. She’d dive down, trying to swim after him, only to have to retreat up for air after a few minutes. She could tell he was making a game of it, staying just out of her reach. They played like that till late in the night and the cave grew steadily darker, till Rey could no longer see well enough in the water.

She pulled herself up onto the ledge, gladly sitting for a while. She had never felt so happily exhausted in her life. She was still smiling, thinking about how much fun it had been to try and chase after her merman in the water. She was so pleased that she wasn’t scare of swimming anymore and she knew she was getting better at it. Maybe in a few days she could talk him into taking her out of the cave. She thought it would be fun to explore a sunken ship with him, peaking around the holds, seeing if there was anything of interest to find. Oh if only she had a tail like his, then it would be so grand to swim with him anywhere.

She chuckled to herself as she dried off and got dressed, letting her mind wander past the cave and reality, letting herself daydream about what it would be like to spend her life under the waves with him. She heard him then, at the ledge. Rey turned to see had had another large fish and two smaller crabs for dinner.

“My, that sure is a lot for just us,” she said as she grabbed the now cleaned out coconut shells along with the bottle rum. She moved the trunk over by the edge and sat down to watch him clean and shuck their meal. Leaning against the small trunk, Rey took a drink from the bottle, pulling a face at the sharp burn the alcohol left in the back of her throat. It was not the best rum she’s had, but it was sweet and she knew it would go well with the crab. She felt it almost immediately mellow her body, pooling in her stomach and flowing out along her limbs, helping relax them.   

He looked rather proud of himself then as he handed her a bowl filled with tasty crab bits and flanks of white fish. As they ate, Rey continued to take sips from the rum, till she noted he was watching her and the bottle. She passed it to him with a smirk.

“Careful, it has a bite to it,” she slurred her words just a slightly as she watched him raise an eyebrow at her before he took a swallow.

Rey watched as his eyes watered not being able to keep them open as his face screwed up and he started to sputter, coughing and wheezing before thrusting the bottle back at her. Her peals of laughter echoed off the rock doom as she watched him try to regain his composure.

“Here, here, this is fresh water,” she tried to hand him her open bottle of water, but he waved her hand away still coughing and dove under the water instead.

Rey wiped tears from her eyes as he looked over into the water to see him, not too far down and looking much better as the sea seemed to help him recover from the rum. Smiling she motioned from him to come back up, but he crossed him arms over his chest, looking like he was sulking.

“Oh come on!” Rey laughed more as she watched him remain stubborn, staying below the water. She smiled down at him, “It was just a little rum!” she let her laughter subside as she laid down, watching him. She pillowed her head on her forearms, feeling very relaxed and sated. If he wanted to sulk, she was just going to let him. A smile tugged at her lips as she watched him start to swim around, back to his every busy work of rearranging the cave floor. She could barely make out his pale skin in the dark water. Slowly her eyes drifted shut. Rey felt a contentment that she rarely had in her life. It was nice to just relax and let herself drift on the drowsiness the rum gave her.

Just before sleep took her, she knew her merman was back at her side, as she felt him carding his fingers through her hair. Still smiling to herself, Rey lost her tentative hold on consciousness.  

 

***

 

Rey rolled over, groaning as her head started to pound.

_Ugh, what the hell had I been thinking?!_

Why had she drunk all that rum last night? Pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes, she tried to ease the ache that was behind them. Without thinking too hard, Rey reached blindly for the water bottle, letting herself drain the last half of it, hoping it would start to help her dehydration and her rum induced hang-over.  

She sat up slowly, not wanting to open her eyes, but she did slowly anyway, cracking them open to see the cave was a bright as it got, making sometime around mid-morning to noon, giving the amount of sunlight reflecting up from the water.

Slowly she sat up, reaching to replace the now empty bottle with the rest, but she stopped mid-motion. There on the edge of the water, sat four pomegranates.

Rey blinked a few times, trying to decide if she was dreaming or not. She stared at the dark red fruit, letting the significance sink in.

He could understand her. He had understood her description of her favorite fruit.

It hits her hard, remembering yesterday, when he’d stayed still for her, he’d refrained from using his teeth when she’d asked him, he had let her take the lead in their coupling when she’d asked him…

He understood her…all this time, he’d understood her all along.

Rey felt tears burn her eyes as she looked at the pomegranates. He’d trapped her here, knowing she would be unable to leave. He had to know she couldn’t _live_ here the rest of her life, didn’t he? She had said as much and since he could understand her…but that meant…

Rey swallowed hard. She felt too many emotions all at once, hurt, confusion, betrayal, scared, elation he could be communicated with, but in the end her anger won out over all the other feelings.

He had done this to her on purpose. He was keeping her here.

She had talked and talked to him for the last four days she’d been here. Telling him about herself, her life, about how wonderful and scary it had been to strike out on her own, about what she wanted to do, still do with her life, her hopes and dreams. Her favorite things, songs and of the places she’d been and hoped to travel too.

And all the while he had just looked at her with a soft smile on his face.

Knowing now that he had understood her the whole time made her want to hit that face, slap that smile clean off it.

How dare he trick her like this! Keep her here like she was some kind of pet, someone to pet and touch –

_No, oh God, no!_

If he knew she couldn’t live here forever, maybe he just wanted…wanted a child from her. Was that it? Was he just keeping her, trying to get her pregnant? Oh God, what if she was now? What kind of a creature would it be? She felt herself break out in a cold sweat, fear racing up her spine and down her arms. How would she know if she was? What had the old crones in her village said about birthing and breeding? Rey tried to remember, tried to calm herself down as she tried to think past the throbbing headache, now made worse by her fears.

Something about not keeping breakfast down, she remembered, was one of the first signs. Well she was certainly feeling nauseous now, but she thought that had to do with her sickening revelations.

But had he planned this all? Had he had something to do with the attack on the _Resistances Bounty?_ Now that she thought about it, it was too convenient for him to have just been swimming by in the middle of the night while a sea monster was tearing the ship apart.

She felt even worse now, thinking that he’d planned all of this, the ship, the crew all dead, because of him and then him keeping her here, feeding her, making love to her. She prayed to God that she wasn’t carrying his child. She remembered some of the old women talking about another girl who had wanted a child desperately, but couldn’t get with one, no matter how many man she let have her. The crones had said something about too scrawny and not enough of her to carry a child.

Well Rey knew she was losing weight, her clothes hung off her, loose and getting more so each day. She could see her ribs easily now. Maybe she was too malnourished now. Oh, but he had brought her the coconuts, he knew! Damn it! He knew she was malnourished and brought her the one of the very things that would help replenish what she had lost.

Rey felt so conflicted. On one hand, he’d trapped her, taken everything away from her, but on the other he was providing what she needed, the way he looked at her, the way he felt, made her heart ache thinking that he may have not meant any of it…but what if he had meant it all?

_No._

It didn’t matter. She needed to leave. It didn’t matter what his intentions were, are, she didn’t want to be here in the first place. She needed to leave, even if it meant she might drown in the attempt, Rey knew she needed to try anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Rey finally realized just what was going on...and was not too happy about it.


	8. Like the Tides Upon the Shore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "No siren did ever so charm the ear of the listener as the listening ear has charmed the soul of the siren." - Henry Taylor.

Rey sat in stunned silence.

She needed to try and leave, but she wanted to see him again. To see if now that she knew what was going on, if he’d finally agree to help her leave the cave. Surely he would understand if she talked to him, explained she knew now…wouldn’t he?

Did he really care for her?

She didn’t have to wait long. All too soon she could see his pale torso and long black tail streak in the water. She noted the direction he came from, low on the far side down at the bottom. That must be where the entrance was.

As he emerged Rey also noted he had a wary, guarded look on his face. So he had been worried she would understand the significance of the pomegranates and how they had shown up. He had known they would give him away.

“So, you can understand me,” Rey said watching him as he came to the ledge. He paused, almost a flinch, but he continued to move himself up closer to her. She could see that he felt something, his body language was slow and small, he was trying to entreat her to come to him at the water’s edge. Rey didn’t try to hide her hurt, her anger. He had to know she didn’t want to be stuck in this cave and he was keeping her here anyway.

She sat just out of arms reach from him looking down at her hands as she clenched them into fists, “I see now that you can clearly understand me or at least some of what I’ve been saying,” she looked up at him in time see him swallow and sink a little further down in the water.

“I’m guessing you either can’t talk, or are choosing not to,” she watched him pale somewhat, which she didn’t think was possible. He drummed his fingers on the rock as he held onto the side of the ledge. He was trying to give her a blank face; she could see he was trying to master the panic in his eyes. She pressed on, looking back down to help keep herself focused.

“So where does that leave us?” Rey wanted to be reasonable even though she was feeling so hurt, betrayed and furious at him in this moment. She felt no joy in cornering him like this. She looked up when she heard him heave himself out of the water and onto the ledge. He had pulled most of his bulk onto the stone and was reaching out flat on his belly, fingers stretching to touch her. His face was upturned and she thought he looked anxious as he reached for her. He was able to brush her knee a little as he strained.

Rey just stared down at him. She had to fight herself to keep her face blank.

“Did you…were you responsible for the monster attacking the ship?”

He froze.

She scooted backwards a little more, making herself completely out of his reach now. Rey watched him, watched how he clenched his jaw, how his fingers gripped the rock till his skin blanched. He held himself ridge for a moment, before turning his face to meet hers. He couldn’t hide it, the look on his face gave it all away.

A sob left Rey as she looked down at him.

“You – you did! You sent that…that creature to tear the _Bounty_ apart! Why? Why did you do that? What did we every do to you?” her voice rose in volume as she tried to speak through her tear constricted throat. She let go of her pent up anger, let it flow into her voice.

“Was it me? Was it to get me? How long have you been following us?” she watched him open his mouth, but nothing came out. He did a push up, his arm bulging as he dragged more of his body onto the rock. He reached for her again, closer this time.

“No! You don’t get to touch me anymore! You did this to me! You’re keeping me here even though you know – YOU KNOW! I can’t stay here! I can’t live here!” She yelled rising up on her knees so she was higher than him, her feet touching the solid wall behind her, “How do you think I feel now? Knowing now that you did all this on purpose! That you had my friends killed! That you took me and are keeping me like some kind of pet! You’re the reason I’m trapped here! Did you ever stop think about that?” Rey yelled at him, looking down at his upturned face, with those large and so sad looking dark eyes.

He seemed so determined to touch her, he was trying to ignore her words but she could see his eyes were drawn tight and he flinched with each new accusation. She was started to hate herself for yelling at him, but she couldn’t seem to stop.

“Yes, you bring me food – but why? Why are you keeping me alive? Am I a plaything? Some kind of pet, another trophy for your collection?” her chest was heaving and it hurt to squeeze those words out, since she didn’t want to see if they were true, if she really was just a _thing_ to him, just some _fascination._ She watched his face crumble then, he shook his head hard, one fast jerk and then his face settled into hard lines. He started to crawl then, he drug himself across the stone and Rey could hear the sound of scales scrapping against the rock. He was determined to reach her. She leaned back as far as she could, but there was nowhere else to go with her back against the wall. She sunk down onto her butt, pulling her knees up to her face, hugging them to her chest. She watched him struggle, his powerful tail of little use to him on the rock ledge. His arms and torso rippled as he got closer to her, his fingers brushed her ankle.

She screamed wordlessly at him as his hand wrapped around that ankle.

“NO! No! I will NOT be something for you to take and keep here for whenever you want me!” She kicked out trying to dislodge his hold.

_“Rey,”_

Everything seemed to stop. Her struggling, her breath, her heart.

He had said her name. The sound of it was like the waves rushing up to meet the shore, a heavy rolling crush that seemed to crest and then she felt the pull – the weight of his voice as it pulled her towards him.

She moved then without thinking. She had to reach him, to touch him. She hoped her face showed just how much she loved him then. She wanted to feel those lips that had spoken her name. She wanted to feel those strong arms around her again.

She didn’t understand why he quickly retreated, pushing himself back into the water so fast. Why his face looked so scared and sad at the same time. Why did he sink down under the water and flee from her in a panic?

Rey sat down by the edge of the water, looking longingly after the last place she had seen him. Wondering when he would come back to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That quote at the beginning is what promoted me to have Ren so utterly besotted with Rey and that she's the one doing all the talking and he's keeping his seductive voice to himself. He wants her to fall for him, for him and not use his abilities to make her never leave him...but now he's gone ran away from her. Can Rey snap out of it? ooooooh we'll just have to wait and see!!
> 
> And completely unrelated to my story or anything dealing with this, but I came across the cutest cartoon version of Merman/Siren Kylo the other day and want to share!  
> [Grumpy Gills](http://eepz.tumblr.com/post/147486684800/doodles-inspired-by-a-comment-on-the-tfa-kinkmeme)


	9. To Catch the Tide

Rey sat on her ledge looking over all the things her merman had brought her. She still thought of him as her merman…but he was so much more than that.

It had taken a little while for the spell of his voice to start to leave her, before she could think again. She understood now if she stayed, when he came back to her, all he needed to do was speak and she’d never want to leave him.

He wasn’t just a merman, he was a siren and she was helpless against his voice. She already knew the pull of his body, but his voice had been unlike anything she had thought possible, it had felt like the very roll of the tide itself as it moved back out to sea. 

She knew he would be back soon, even with their fight, she knew he would come back. He was never gone for long when the sun was up and she was awake. She picked up one of the pomegranates, cradling it in her lap, though she realized she had no appetite whatsoever now. Such a small thing to cause so much strife, she thought. She felt hot tears burn her eyes. She didn’t want to be a pet, a thing, a bit of entertainment to him, but that didn’t feel right. Not with the way he could look at her, not the way he made her feel. She looked around at the “home” he was trying to build for them. She could see that now. He really was trying to make this cave livable for her. Rey remembered the nest he was making at the bottom of the cave floor. It did seem awfully large for just himself, now that she reflected on it. Why would he make one that big…unless he was expecting to share it with…their child?

Did he really think of her as a broodmare? He knew she couldn't live in that cave indefinitely. But he had looked so hurt, so lost when she'd thrown out that acquisition. He had been very concise when he denied that, but Rey did not know how to feel then, she was so confused. Thinking back to him, to the softness he'd treated her with and the pleading in his eyes. Then when he had fled from her, the sheer panic on his face. He knew what the effect of his voice would do to her. Rey guessed that was why he'd never spoken to her. But the why keep her at all, if he never intended to talk to her?

Was she really just a body to him?

Tears came with that thought and she made no effort to stop them, but she knew tears would not help her. Rey didn’t let herself cry for long, telling herself that it was unnecessary and she had things she needed to do and do soon while the sun was still high. She wiped her face and started to move about to gather what she thought she could take with her when she tried to escape.

She tied one of the water bottles to her waist using a strip of the canvas sheet she had severed with the not-so-useless fountain pen. She knew she would need more than that to survive, but she had no means to carry them and they would weight her down more. She tucked two of the four pomegranates into a pouch she made out of a strip of the sheet canvas and tied that on as well. It was all she had at the moment.

Her thoughts kept drifting back to the sound of her name from his lips. His voice had a tight grip on her heart and she didn't know if she would ever forget that one little word from him. She paused at the edge of the water, looking back at her little trunk. Rey reached over and picked up the black pearl he had given her. It was the same liquid dark iridescence as his eyes and scales. She wanted to keep a little something to remind her of him. Rey tucked the pearl into the inner pocket of her britches.

With her mind still clearing from the haze of the siren's voice, Rey slipped into the water and swam over to the far side of the cave. Taking one last look at her would be home and prison, Rey took in a deep breath filling her lungs and dove down to find the way out of the cave.

Rey pulled herself down the side of the rock wall saving her strength in case she needed to swim fast. She had no idea how long the tunnel would be or how far below the surface she was. She felt elation as the light got brighter as she found the edge of a sloping ledge. She didn't hesitate and pulled herself under it and started kicking her feet to help move her against the current and out from under her rocky enclosure.

She was about half way through she thought when the light wavered and Rey felt panic start to rise. She froze, waiting, straining her ears trying to hear anything other than her own heartbeat in her ears. She realized she couldn't stay there, she either had to continue or turn back. She could feel the need to breath starting to build, but she knew she needed to keep going. She kicked hard off the rock wall, propelling herself out of the tunnel's mouth and through a thick waving net of long seaweed.

Rey looked up and she could see the _sun!_

Clear and bright high above her through the water. She grabbed onto the rock behind her and started kicking towards surface using the stone as a way to help keep her steady. She briefly looked around seeing a bright colorful coral reef teeming with fish glinting in the sunlight. If she hadn't been holding her breathe she would have gasp at all the colors and movement. It was like some dance of jewels in the water before her after her time in the dime cave light. So bright and cheerful, Rey couldn't help but smile as she moved up faster now as she felt a water current pushing up as the waves crashed up.

She broke the surface and took a great deep breath, nearly going back under at how dizzy she had become. Gripping onto the caves outer side, Rey didn't even pause, she just started to feel around for some handhold, some crevasse for her use to puller herself up and out of the sea. After a little frantic searching she finally found a stone parturition that was large enough to haul herself up into. From there she continued to climb, till she was up on the very top of the rock dome.

Rey laid there looking up into the puffy white clouds, feeling the sea breeze and sunshine pass over her, panting, exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. She had done it.

_She had done it!_

She rolled over on her side, looking around from her new height. She guessed she was about fifteen feet or so up. The top of her cave was flat enough that she could stretch out and still not have her arms and legs near the sides. She looked out over the edge seeing down into the clear blue green water. The coral reef was still very easy to see as was the numerous shipwrecks not more than a shoal away. When the tide was low this would be easy to spot, but when it ran high, Rey could see why so many vessels had run aground in this small archipelago. She let her eyes follow the reefs seeing where they dipped and merged with the sand bars and she was so happy to see the green that rose up just past the white sandy beaches of the islands that were around her.

Her rocky post was near a few other large rock out cropping, some taller and broader than the one she was marooned on. The nearest inviting beach was not too far away, but there was a lot of deeper water between her and it. She tried to study the other boulders, trying to see if there was a way to climb up and go from one to the next to keep her out of the water as much as possible, but it didn't look like she was going to find any such route from where she could see.

Laying back, Rey looked up into the sky, watching those fluffy clouds drift by. She could hear a few sea birds calling over the gentle roll of the waves. She looked back over at the biggest island. It had plenty of trees and what she thought of as a few small mountains nearing the center, but what really drew her eye was the nearly perfect white crescent of sandy shore. It was the only beach in sight as the rest of the coastline was either thick greenery or rocky ledges. The inlet was deeper looking then the rest of the water around before it turned that startling turquoise just before it gave way to land. The cove was small, hardly room for a sloop to pull a shore, but to her it looked perfect.

Rey looked back out to the waters, trying to see if there was any indication of just where she was. The archipelago's shape was unfamiliar to her, but it could be that she couldn't see all the islands in the grouping, so it was possible she had seen it on a map and just didn't recognize it. As she was looking around, Rey thought she saw a familiar dark streak in the water heading for her cave. It had to be her merman. She ducked down, and stayed flat on the rock's surface, not that she thought he could see her, but she still didn't want to find out what would happen if he saw her. She didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes.

Rey crouched debating on how long she could wait before he came back out. Not long, she imagined, there was no place she could hide in that cave. He would know right away that she had fled. Rey bit her bottom lip, worry and a bizarre sense of guilt was creeping in on her. She peeked over the edge, waiting to see if he reemerged.

She stayed there watching for what felt like forever, and still no dark shape in the water. Rey looked up to see the sun was getting closer to the horizon. She did not fancy the idea of sleeping on a windswept rock all night and was certain if she wanted to try and take shelter in those trees on the island, she should try to do that while she still had some sunlight.

Rey retied her bottle of water, now half empty back onto her waist. She still had yet to more than nibble on one of the pomegranates, but she checked them too. She quickly moved down the slope of the boulder facing the deep inlet and the hidden beach. Taking one steadying breath, Rey dived into the clear water, striking out in long strokes, trying to swim as fast as she could. She needed to reach the shore quickly, she just had a strange sense that the longer she was in the water, he'd know somehow.

It seemed harder now, like the water was fighting her. The tide must be going out, Rey thought as she strained against the current. She was half way into the deepest part of the cove when she got swept under by a heavy wave, rolling her back and down. Rey struggled and fought her mindless panic, getting herself back up to the surface, choking and sputtering saltwater, most of her strength gone.

She was determined, the shore was so close, Rey kicked and tried to get her momentum back and she could see she was making some headway. Rey stopped thinking about anything, just focusing on her breathing and moving forward, nothing else mattered now then getting to the beach. She nearly collapsed when her foot touched the sandy sea floor. Soon she could stand unsteadily, with the waves crashing around her, but she was standing up right. Rey stumbled a little, having not walked in nearly a week and her legs were tried.

Rey moved to take her first true steps, she felt a hand wrap around her ankle. She gave a half scream before falling forward, catching herself on her hands and knees. She didn’t even look back to see his face, she knew who it was, she just struggled as hard as she could, twisting and clawing at the sand, anything to keep from getting dragged back into the water.

“No, no, no, no, no, NO!” she started to say harshly and low, under her breathe, mostly to herself as she pulled, kicked and all but dragged herself out of the water, the merman still keeping a solid hold on her. She made it out of the water, stumbling for a moment before she tensed to run even though he still had a hand firmly around her ankle.

_“Don’t leave me. Please,”_

She felt her body jolt at the sound of his voice. It’s echoing in her head now, swelling like a great wave before it crashed down on her. Rey felt her body’s tension slack and she turned to look down at him. His dark eyes were large, pleading and sad. His face showed just how much it had taken for him to say those words. He had dragged himself onto the beach, in his attempt to reach her. Sunset played rosy golden light over him, making his skin a strange shade of pink as he looked up at her, stranded, crawling in the wet sand and receding water. He was reaching up at her, a beseeching hand towards her face. Rey felt her legs collapse and her knees made indents in the soft ground. She mimicked his hand and reached to touch his face as he touched hers.

_“Rey,”_

All she can hear was the sound of water rushing in fast over the sand, it was in his voice, the very pull of the waves rushing back out to sea. She looked into his eyes and they looked haunted. There were tears in them, but he smiled when she caressed his face, letting her thumb brush away the ones that fell down his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So freedom...is short lived. 
> 
> One more to do and this story will be wrapped up :)


	10. By The Sounding Sea

“What’s your name?” Rey heard herself ask, wanting to call him something other than _her merman_.

He looked away for a moment and Rey felt like the sun had been taken away from her, but he looked back and smiled again and she felt it radiate a warmth she knew she would always look to find from now on.

_“Kylo. You can call me Kylo,”_ he craned his neck up, trying to get as close to her as he could. Rey scooted herself closer as he rolled over, letting him rest his head against her chest and resting his back on her thighs as she pulled him into her lap. She was content to sit there, watching the sunset play colors on his skin while he – while _Kylo_ looked up into her face and stroked her cheek, fingers playing in her hair.  

“Kylo,” she said quietly, “I like it, _Kylo_. It’s sweet sounding,” Rey knew she had a silly look on her face, but couldn’t find it in herself to care when he smiled wider, almost grinning up at her before his face fell, sadden again. “Why do you look so sad?”

He bit his bottom lip before taking a shuttering breath, “ _I never wanted this –“_

“Oh!” Rey felt her heart stop, he didn’t want her? But…

_“No, no! You, I’ve wanted from the moment I laid eyes on you,”_ She released the breath she was holding and leaned her face into his hand more, content again.

“ _I never wanted you besotted, enthralled. I wanted you to love me on your own,”_

Why would she not love him? Of course she loved him, Rey closed her eyes and sighed, content to hold him close and feel his in her arms. She opened happy loving eyes, letting her fingers drift into his drying hair. He looked so beautiful, yet so sad. She wanted to lift that sadness.

_“I just... just couldn’t let you go. When I found that you had gone, found the way out of our cave, I…I thought I should just stop and let you leave, it would be better that way since you didn't want to stay there. I told myself I would watch to make sure you made it to shore safe, but then you rolled in the undertow and I panicked. I swam as fast as I could to get to you, but you made it yourself, my beautiful Rey...but I couldn’t just let you go, couldn’t watch you walk away from me. Oh Rey, can you ever forgive me?”_   Kylo looked up at her, his eyes pleading with her, tears running anew.

Rey smiled down at him and ran her fingers up the back of his head bringing it up so she could lean down and give him a soft kiss. “What have you done that needs to be forgiven?”

_“Everything! You were right, about me and about the kraken attaching the ship. I was so angry about my life. I wanted to make them pay – I blamed them for how I am – for what I can do to people and what I can never have. So when I was young, I left. I knew I needed to be alone,”_

Rey watched the emotion play across his face as he talked. She sighed and nuzzled his large hand as he held her face, looking up at her.

_“I was so taken when I first saw you, aboard the ship, smiling out at the sea, you looked so beautiful. Even when you were scared and fighting to stay afloat. I acted on impulse. I saved you – I took you to the cave…to…to keep you,”_ he swallowed as he looked up at her and she was all too happy to listen to him as his lovely dark eyes stared into hers and she shivered as his voice washed over her more.

_“I…I was foolish and wanted your love and thought with time you might come to love me – but how could you love me after all the things I’ve done?”_

Oh! How could he doubt she loved him? It was an ache so deep in her heart, he had to understand that. Rey opened her mouth but Kylo placed a finger to her lips.

_“I know,"_ Kylo looked sadly back up at her, his eyes full of remorse for her and himself she thought. 

_"I know how you feel...now.”_ He looked resolved then, _“I promise I will never leave you. I will make your life the best I can make it. Since I’ve taken everything from you, I will give you everything. I promise I will always be here and you will have my love forever.”_

Rey felt his hand run up into her hair cradling the back of her head, pulling her down. She happily closed her eyes and leaned down for another kiss. It was a deep kiss, full of promise and passion. She heard him inhale sharply, tearing his mouth from her as he started to convulse.

Rey looked down the length of his body as he started to writhe in her lap, his tail rolling on the drying sand. The tide had receded, leaving them above the waterline. The evening breeze had dried them as they had talked, not paying any attention to the setting sun or the lovely pale vermilion painted clouds above them in the darkening violet sky. Rey watched as his tail split, iridescent black and gray scales gave way to flesh that was turning a milky color. All too soon she was looking a long pair of muscled legs. Her eyes traveled up seeing his member, looking as it had before, taunt and as tightly strung as the rest of his body as the last of the convulsions left him, before she continued up his long torso. Kylo was panting, his chest heaving as he swallowed hard, trying to slow his breathing.

She looked down into his face, seeing his eyes were now a startling deep brown with a lighter outer ring in them. His skin was dotted with marks and moles and so pale compared to his black hair. Rey let her eyes roam over him, all of him, as he lay there. She couldn’t believe how he had changed.

“How?” she asked, glancing down the line of his body from his toes and back up into his eyes.

A small chuckle left him as he stroked his hand through her hair, _“All of my kind can live on land, if we choose too. I had no reason to come ashore again, but you, my sweet, need to live here, on land and I will stay here with you,”_ Kylo sighed and his body gave a shutter under her hands, _“Oh my sweet Rey, how you have changed everything,”_ Rey looked down into his face, watching his new eyes as he leaned up again, getting closer to her. So different then his near solid black ones, she thought, but still so expressive. Kylo pressed his lips to hers and Rey melted into his kiss, feeling his arms wrap around her waist, his hands pulling her down towards him. _  
_

Happy little sounds escaped Rey, as his hands caressed over the fabric of her shirt. She threaded her fingers into his hair hearing him moan softly before he moved his lips down to her throat, his hands encouraging her to shift down on top of him. She felt his hands untie the strips of canvas that held the bottle of water and her two long forgotten pomegranates. Those were tossed aside before he slid his large hands up under her shirt, lifting it off of her. Rey shivered in the cool evening air as the last of the sun’s light left them and the star started to wink into view from behind the clouds. _"I want you, oh how I want you. I have wanted to tell you just how much, since the first time you spoke to me,"_ Rey arched her back, pushing her chest into his hands as he ran them up the front of her body, cupping her breasts, fingers kneading her soft skin.

She placed her hands on his chest, feeling his heart thumbing against his ribs, as he looked up at her. His skin was so warm now, almost fever hot, Rey let out a soft moan and laid her body along his, sighing contently as he wrapped his arms around her. Kylo nibbled along her neck, coming up behind her ear, whispering, “ _Tell me what you want, Rey. Tell me what you want of me_ ,” she shivered again as he pressed his lips into her skin. _"I'll give you everything I can."_

Rey moaned again, her heartbeat starting to pick up pace with each word from him. Her head was spinning and she could feel how swollen and wet her body was becoming. She wanted him to take her again, like he'd done before, "Please," she said in a breathy whisper, "Please, Kylo. I want you," she gasped when he started to work her britches open and push them down over her hips. "I want your arms around me keeping me warm," she wiggled her hips helping him get her pants off the rest of the way.

"I want to feel you inside of me again," she brought her hands up and brushed his hair away from his face before leaning down to let her mouth move over his. Rey felt him lift her by her waist and shift her body slightly before starting to slide her down onto him. She moaned into his mouth at the tight stretch of him just past her entrance. He continued to lift her and then lower her, slowly working himself all the way inside. Rey was gasping and clutching at his shoulders, her eyes squeezed shut and with a widening of her hips she took the last of him, feeling him nudge at the end of her body. An unintelligible sound escaped her when he started to drag his body back out of hers.

_"Oh, Rey,"_ Kylo moaned as he started to move more, keeping his pace slow and steady, _"Ooh my beautiful Rey,"_ working his body up into hers, wrapping his arms around her. Rey felt him give her a little squeeze, holding her arms tight along her body, before he rolled them over, laying her down on the sandy beach. She looked up at Kylo, seeing he’d become her ceiling now, almost as solid as that dome of rock had been. He kept his limbs around her, resting her on his forearms as he drove his hips against hers. This was a new angle for them and Rey’s mouth hung open at that sheer force he was able to use now. His knees giving him so much more support, he was able to focus more of his weight, letting it fall right into her. Rey didn’t hold back her cries as he pushed harder, stronger than before. His movement was a controlled rolling thrust that felt like the very waves themselves and just as powerful.

_"Oh please, Rey, please keep singing for me. I love hearing you, hearing your pleasure,"_ her body spasmed, jerking as each word tumbled from him. Kylo was keeping his mouth close to her ear, letting him whisper his words of adoration. Rey felt her body clench tight when a low moan left him, his rhythm faltering when she had gripped his hips urging him on. 

Rey let her head roll to the side, her eyes searching for his as she felt her climax approaching, "Close, so close," she breathed when his eyes met hers. 

_"Say my name, please for me, say my name,"_ came his breathy request and the weight of his voice rolled in Rey's mind, crashing down on her, pulsing pleasure through each of his thrusts, pushing it further then she thought possible. Rey squeezed her eyes shut, body twisting caught in the grip of her orgasm, but she managed to cry out his name, strangled and soft at the same time, "Kylo! Oh, god, Kylo!" her world narrowed down to the feel of him moving inside her, so deep and so thick, while her nails left half-moon indents on his hips. She gasped, her body arching as he continued to thrust through her orgasm, moving faster at an erratic pace, before his body seized and a guttural cry left him. Rey watched as his face went slack just before he collapsed onto her, panting and twitching.

Rey started up in wonder, moving her hands up to cup his face, while he panted and started back down at her. She smiled up at him, slowly brushing sweat drenched hair out of his eyes. He shivered at her touch and Rey leaned up and kissed him softly, seeing most of that sadness had left, but there was just a bit of melancholy left still. 

_Well, I'll work on that._

She thought to herself as she gave him another quick kiss, before moving to sit up. Slowly they moved about gathered her clothing and silently leaning into one another, with soft touches and silly smiles they moved to the tree line.  

By the light of the stars they built a small fire and sat holding each other till the embers burned low and the sky turned as black as the waters out past the hidden cove.

 

_~fin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it...the ending as I always envisioned it. Him desperate to keep the one thing he loved more then anything...and pledging his life to her because he understood and despised what he did to keep her. 
> 
> I do have an epilogue in progress...but it's just depressing the hell outta me...so that will need some work and I do still intend to get that family history/backstory bit worked out too. That may end up being something on my dA account and I'll put a link here, not sure yet.


	11. Epilogue

Kylo was anxious to get back home.

He hated being gone so long – but that squall had cost him a few more days at sea, making it a total of nine that he had been gone. He knew he’d have work to do when he got home, that he would have to help Rey recover. Nine days was too long for her. She was completely normal as long as he was around her, but if he had to leave, to get supplies they couldn’t grow or salvage from shipwrecks, Rey would start to fade.

He walked through the gate he had built last season around their home. Kylo didn’t bother going into the stone hut – she’d be in her garden anyway. That’s where she always was when he was gone too long. She was perfectly fine for a few days, puttering around in her garden or working on a new weaving, but if it was longer than three days, she told him how she’d feel tired, drained almost. Rey would start skipping meals, having no appetite. She would talk of sitting out in her garden, watching the water, hoping to see him was swimming there. To see him coming back to her.

They had been living comfortably with each other, in the little hut he had built, for the last two years. Their days passing in happiness as they went about making their home better. Rey had planted a little garden and was often out in it. They talked and laughed and sat on the beach watching the waves at sunset most evenings.

He tried to give her a good life.

Once again his was hit was pang of regret, he hated leaving her, but they had needed supplies. There were things they couldn’t grow nor find, even thought that last haul Kylo had brought up from a wreck, not more than three islands over, had sustained them well into the current season, but if he wanted to keep them healthy he needed to trade some of his finds and thankfully there was no shortage of gold, now that he’d discovered a richly filled cargo hold on that last wreck.

Kylo had been excited to tell Rey the good news, that he’d made a helpful connection on this last trip, meeting a fellow merman that was willing to work as a liaison of sorts, since Kylo couldn’t directly trade or buy goods from the nearest human port. He didn’t really like Hux, but the merman had turned out to be nearly invaluable to Kylo, helping him purchase a sturdy sloop. Now Rey could travel with him when they needed supplies and he wouldn’t have to haul it all back underwater anymore, allowing them more freedom as to what he could bring home. 

He found her sitting on the low bench he’d build for her out of the leftover stones from the hut, she was sitting under an arbor of bright red hibiscus, staring out at the rolling waves. He could tell she hadn’t been eating, it was easy to see the weight she had lost in his absences.

“ _Rey, oh my sweet Rey_ ,” he sank down to his knees in front of her, watching the life return to her eyes was always bittersweet. Knowing she lived for him alone made his heart ache and at the same time, made it swell with his love for her.

“K-Kylo?” she petted his hair, stroked his face and he watched her dull eyes brighten as her fingers caressed over him.

“ _Yes, my sweet, it’s me – I’m home_ ,” he reached up and cradled her face, feeling where her tears had dried on her skin.

“Why, why were you gone so long?” she sounded hollow, but her could hear her heart was still there, she still loved him with every fiber of her being.

How he hated himself at times like this.

“ _There was a bad storm. I had to stay down below. There was another ship caught in the squall. I did as you asked – I saved as many of the sailors as I could. It delayed my return,_ ” he watched her face as she absorbed what he had said, watched as her thoughts turned over the information.

“Oh – alright,” she smiled and he could see she meant it. It really was alright. His Rey would always forgive him.

Kylo laid his head on her lap, letting the tension leave him as her clever fingers started to work the windblown knots out of his hair.

She loved petting him. He loved letting her.

 _“I have good news, my love. I was able to purchase us a small sloop, just big enough for the two of us to handle,”_ he looked up, wanting to see how she would receive the news. He watched her eyes widen and her face break into a beautiful smile. He felt his heart soar at the sight.

“Oh! Really? So we can start to travel and explore now?” he reached up and took her hands in his, smiling back up in to her happy shining face. Her eyes were bright and he could see the color was returning to her cheeks.

 _“Yes, my love. I have it anchored down at the cove. We will need to decide what we are taking with us, what is getting boarded up in the cave,”_ he gave her hands a little squeeze and just let her smile and her happiness wash over him.

“Oh, Kylo! That’s wonderful!” Rey leaned down and kissed him. He closed his eyes, smiling while she nuzzled his face and his long nose.

 _“Yes, it is, but now I think it’s time we got you something to eat. I brought back some smoked pork and some of those little red berries you like so much,”_ Kylo stood keeping her hands in his.

“Strawberries?”

 _“Yes, strawberries. I forgot what you called them,”_ he helped her stand and caught her when she swayed on her feet. He lifted her with ease and carried her into their home, fully intending on pampering her the rest of the night and the next day.  

 

***

 

Two days later, he watched her stand on the bow of their little sloop, watching their island shrink in the distance. He set the tether to hold their current course and walked up behind her, taking her into his arms, hugging her to his chest.

 _“Regrets, my love?”_ he brought his lips down next to her ear, feeling her shiver as he held her.

“No, not really. I do love our little hut, but I am really looking forward to seeing all the places you’ve been,” he felt her snuggle further into him. Kylo held her tighter as the wind picked up and started to fill their sail. Kylo squeezed her once more and then taking her hand, started to pull her back towards the wheel.

“Where are we going first?” she asked as he unhooked the tether. Kylo pulled her in front of him, lifting her hands up into the wheel. He’d promised he would teach her how to sail and he intending to start now.

 _“We’re going to stop at the port town I’ve been trading at to pick up the rest of our supplies and then,”_ he smiled down at Rey, watching her concentrate on keeping the sloop on the course he’d set, _“I thought we could start with Port Royal,”_ he smiled to himself at her sharp intake of breath, _“And then from there, I thought we could just work our way down till we visit all the of the Caribbean. That way I know you’ll get in enough sailing practice,”_ he kissed her cheek quickly, loving the sound of laughter that bubbled up out of her as she gripped the wheel. Kylo hugged her again, laying his hands over hers as they sailed in the sunrise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the epilogue was for Kylo's POV since so many of you wanted to know what was going through that fishy little mind of his.


End file.
